1 Answers
Multiplicity or plurality is the psychological phenomenon in which a body can feature multiple distinct or overlapping consciousnesses, each with their own degree of individuality. This phenomenon can feature in identity disturbance, dissociative identity disorder, and other specified dissociative disorders. Some individuals describe their experience of multiplicity as a form of neurodiversity, rather than something that demands a diagnosis.
Multiplicity exists in many forms, including in dissociative disorders, tulpamancy, spirituality, and other distinct states of being. The distinct consciousnesses are often termed "headmates", "alters", "parts", or "selves", with terms for a group of headmates including "system", "collective", "plurality", and others.
Since 1994, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 no longer refers to dissociative identity disorder as "multiple personality disorder", favoring other terms.
In personality research, multiplicity can also be referred to as a personality style defined as "an individual's relatively consistent inclinations and preferences across contexts".